Another Region of European Country Requests 'Russia's Protection'

The governor of Moldova's pro-Russia Gagauzia region has reportedly become the second regional leader from the Eastern European nation to request the "protection" of Russian President Vladimir Putin.

Gagauzia Governor Eugenia Gutul accused her country's pro-European Union (EU) leadership of "oppressing" pro-Kremlin residents of her region during a meeting with the speaker of Russia's Senate in Moscow on Friday, according to Reuters.

The development came after Congress of Moldova's internationally unrecognized pro-Russia breakaway state Transnistria earlier this week requested that Putin's government "implement measures for defending Transnistria," which elicited fears that Russia may move to invade Moldova.

"We want ... to continue to receive support from the Russian Federation," Gutul reportedly told Speaker Valentina Matviyenko during the meeting on Friday, before requesting the establishment of direct airline flights between Gagauzia and Russia.